Fool me once, shame on you Fool me twice, shame on me Fool me three-
by therentistoodamnhigh
Summary: "-times, shame on both of us." Papyrus is not an idiot. He knows that Sans lies to him about a lot of things. However, being a king is hard and things are starting to weigh heavy on him and he needs answers. But will Papyrus be able to get them from Sans or will his brother just keep evading the question?


Papyrus is not an idiot. Sure, he's not smart with science-y things like Sans is, and yeah, he'll admit that he can be pretty oblivious sometimes, but he likes to think he's good at other things, like making puzzles and cooking spaghetti and making people smile.

However, there's one thing Papyrus definitely knows he's good at and that thing is reading his brother. If the years spent reading his brother's face and body language has taught him anything, it's that Sans is a born liar. Half the time Sans is just teasing him, but the rest of the time, Sans seems to be trying to protect him from one thing or another he thinks Papyrus can't handle. What those things are, Papyrus doesn't really know. There's also something big that Sans is struggling with, maybe a lot of somethings, but every time Papyrus tries to broach the subject, Sans just clams up and evades any and all questions like nobody's business. Papyrus loves his brother to pieces, he really does, but he's getting tired of being treated like he's still ten. He's going on twenty-two, for goodness' sake.

There are, of course, reasons why Papyrus puts up with Sans' behavior. The first is that he knows for a fact that Sans loves Papyrus just as much as Papyrus does him, which is a considerable amount. The second is that Papyrus is painfully aware of his big brother's singular HP, to the point where there are days when he is near desperate to ensure that what little HOPE Sans does have doesn't disappear, lest he wake up to a pile of dust in his big brother's bed.

Sans didn't always have one HP, Papyrus is certain of it. He doesn't remember exactly how or why it happened, but one day when he was a young teen, Sans had gone to the labs with a couple hundred HP and had come back late at night with a max HP of just over a couple dozen.

Papyrus remembers distinctly how tired and worn and absolutely grief-stricken Sans had looked, just barely holding it together. Inevitably, he had asked, in softer voice than he thought himself capable of, "Sans? Is something wrong? Did something happen today?"

Sans had just stared at Papyrus for a long moment, letting snowflakes drift in through the open door. "Nah, bro, everything's fine. There was just an accident at work." The sound of the door closing had felt far too loud.

Papyrus had frowned from his seat on the floor, body positioned towards the TV. 'Just an accident' didn't warrant such dim eye lights and slumped posture. "Are you sure, brother? You don't look fine to me."

Sans' rictus grin had become even more strained at that. "I'm sure, bro. I'm just fine." His voice had broken on the last word, betraying the utter falseness of the statement.

Papyrus had immediately bounded up and over to Sans, hugging him tightly.

At that, Sans had broken down into these great heaving sobs, which had honestly scared Papyrus a little bit, and cried his metaphorical heart out with his head on Papyrus' shoulder. They had crumpled to the floor and stayed there long into the night. Neither of them had left the house the next day.

After that, Sans' max HP had steadily dropped into the single digits over the course of a couple weeks and Papyrus was terrified. He had tried everything he could think of to cheer up Sans, but nothing was working. He had been so so so scared each morning that when he went to wake up Sans he would find only a pile of dust and he was getting desperate for something, anything to cheer up Sans. It was then that he had decided that if Sans was bent on staying sad, then Papyrus was going to be cheerful enough and confident enough for the both of them. He didn't call himself the Great Papyrus for nothing, right?

But then, after a couple weeks, to his absolute delight, it actually seemed to be working. He knew it was working because when Papyrus told Sans he was going to bed, Sans had sat up in his bed for the first time in four days and asked if Papyrus wanted to be read a bedtime story.

Papyrus had been far too delighted that Sans actually wanted to do something to mention that he thought himself too old for bedtime stories. All he could focus on as Sans read to him that evening was the fact that Sans had looked a small degree of genuinely happy for the first time in almost a month. Then and there, Papyrus had resolved to do whatever it took to keep that happy expression on Sans' face, even if it meant being read to at night for the foreseeable future. It was the least he, the Great Papyrus, could do for his brother.

* * *

Undyne had told him once, years ago, that his endless optimism and boundless confidence would get himself hurt one of these days. He had immediately replied that there was no way that would happen, the Great Papyrus is always careful. Nowadays he wasn't so sure, not after having stared down that dust covered human for long moments that felt like a small eternity. There had been a few seconds in there during that confrontation where he was one hundred percent certain the human would rush up and cut him to pieces but instead, the human had scrunched their face up, looking a little like they might cry, and accepted his mercy. But he hadn't actually gotten hurt, so that didn't count, right?

(Something tells him that's not quite right, that his hubris has gotten him killed before, maybe on multiple occasions, but that doesn't make sense in any context whatsoever, so Papyrus just ignores that little voice.)

Later, when Papyrus asks Sans where Undyne is after the human has left (because he wants to know if she's alive or if there's a pile of dust he has to mourn), he doesn't miss the way Sans freezes a little before relaxing in that strained way of his and telling him she's gone on vacation.

What. The fuck. Papyrus will admit that he can be a little dense at times, but he definitely isn't stupid enough to accept that lie at face value. What exactly does Sans think he's trying to accomplish here? Vacation? At a time like this? If it had been literally anyone else telling him this, Papyrus would've called them out on their bold faced lie, but he can see the way Sans is strained and tense under the mask of his casual grin, desperation etched into the lines of his eyes. Papyrus cannot bear to force another misery on Sans, to make him see that he isn't a child during this awful time, so instead, he just smiles warmly and says he hopes she has fun, like he isn't brutally aware of the fact that there's a real chance the human most likely would've gone on to kill others after leaving Snowdin, like he didn't just watch Mettaton get destroyed on live television.

Later, after Papyrus has been crowned the king of the Underground (which, even to Papyrus, seems like a bad idea; surely there's someone more qualified somewhere, isn't there?), he realizes that 'vacation' had actually been a euphemism for death when he's informed by Sans that Undyne, Alphys, and Mettaton have all 'gone on vacation'. He feels kind of offended that Sans doesn't seem to think that he can handle facing the reality of death, but going along with it eases the lines of tension in Sans' body in a way he hasn't seen for a while and he looks kind of relieved. Papyrus can't bring himself to break the peace that Sans seems to have gained in this moment.

Sans starts working harder than he has for years once Papyrus is king and it doesn't escape his notice that Sans is once again putting on a façade. In order to help ease his burden, Papyrus tells him on many occasions that he's incredibly proud of him for working so hard, tells him this with total sincerity and without a trace of teasing mockery in his voice, and each time Sans' whole face will brighten a little, his smile finally reaching his eyes and he'll say with a voice full of fondness, "Thanks, bro. You're the best."

It never fails to ease the knot of tension in Papyrus' soul that he hadn't noticed up until that moment and so he always responds to this with a fond, "Of course I am!"

This goes on for months, years. Papyrus will work up the courage to tell Sans the truth about everything, but just as he's about to say it, he'll see the sad look in his brother's eyes, suddenly remember Sans' one HP, and Papyrus will lose his nerve and say something totally different, something positive and cheerful.

Eventually, keeping up his enthusiasm becomes as heavy a burden as the mantle that's been redesigned for his slim frame. Papyrus' multitude of encouragement to both the kingdom and his brother starts ringing hollow in his ears and worst of all, Sans notices. He has to start waving off Sans' worries with an insistent "Yes, Sans, of course I'm fine." After the nth time of this, Papyrus realizes with a sickening lurch of his non-existent stomach that he, too, is a born liar just like Sans is, and the thought disgusts and sickens him to his very core. It must show on his face because Sans notices that too, and Papyrus has to wave off even more of Sans' worries, feeling sicker by the minute.

Papyrus decides it's high time for the both of them to come clean.

* * *

It turns out that the royal castle actually lives up to its name and there are dozens of rooms that have gone totally unused for decades. Papyrus had decided that he would just pick a new set of rooms for him and his brother to live in, instead of just trying to redecorate the already lived-in ones. It seemed wrong to redecorate Asgore's living space, for some reason.

Papyrus and Sans are sitting in one of the smaller rooms, unwinding at the end of a long day, when Papyrus decides to broach the subjects he's been meaning to bring up. He peels the crown off his skull, the bottom rim tacky with a light adhesive that keeps it from sliding off. He cleans the adhesive off both the crown and his skull with a cleaner and cloth dedicated to this purpose and sets the crown gently on the coffee table, mindful of the varnish.

"Sans." His voice is quieter than normal. He doesn't want any of the guards to overhear.

"what's up, pap?" Papyrus can see Sans look over at him in his periphery and there's concern in his face.

Oh boy. This is going to be difficult.

Papyrus stays silent for a couple moments before speaking. "They're dead, aren't they?" Papyrus says softly. His voice isn't angry or accusatory, just sad.

"what- what are you talkin' about, bro?" Sans turns bodily in his seat to face Papyrus. Papyrus ducks his head down so he doesn't have to see Sans' face. It'll only fill him with more guilt.

"Undyne, Alphys, Mettaton, so many others. They've all turned to dust, haven't they?" Papyrus can feel his throat going tight at the thought of his friends. Memories of Undyne flicker through his head and he remembers all the times that he wished Sans had been right, that they all really were on vacation and would be back any day. He remembers distinctly how, with each passing month, the likelihood that he'd read Sans wrong all those months ago was decreasing and feeling despair at the thought. He remembers clinging to the desperate hope that maybe Undyne wasn't dead, that maybe she was just licking her wounds with Alphys elsewhere. He grips the cushions of the couch a little tighter at the memories.

"wh-what? how did- when did you-" Sans pauses a moment to gather his thoughts, looking distressed. "why didn't you tell me you knew, pap?"

The sad, guilty note in Sans' voice cuts straight to Papyrus' soul and he starts to ramble, helpless to stop and unable to prevent emotion from choking up his voice. "I'm sorry Sans, I thought it would help! You just looked so sad and stressed and I was scared and I didn't know what else to do and I just wanted you to be happy, but saying I knew would just make you more sad and so I went along with it because going along with what you say makes you happy, but it's not working anymore, Sans! And it's getting so hard to stay positive, I'm trying so hard to keep everyone in good spirits, I really am! But Sans, I'm getting so tired and I just, I- I-" Papyrus has to stop and breathe, but the inhale is this awful, jagged thing and the exhale is shaky too, so he tries again, but the second breath is the same and so is the third. There are tears welling in his eye sockets and rolling down his cheekbones and oh stars, he's outright crying now but he can't stop, this is the worst.

Sans is absolutely speechless for a few long moments, despair blooming in his soul as his worst fear unfolds in front of him: Papyrus crying for the first time in years and it's all his fault. Sans breaks himself from his stupor and clambers across the couch to hug Papyrus tightly. "i'm so sorry, bro, i had no idea! i didn't know you felt so bad, but if i did, i would've- fuck, i would've done somethin', anythin' else! none of this is your fault, pap, you gotta believe me." Sans can feel the sting of oncoming tears in his eyes and buries his face into Papyrus' clothes to hide it.

Papyrus gathers enough of himself to pull Sans into his lap in order to clutch him to his chest more effectively. There's still so much he wants to say, but he can't stop crying long enough to say any of it and that makes him cry even harder.

They stay like that for a while, Papyrus heaving bone-rattling sobs and Sans crying quietly, shaking himself nearly to pieces. Papyrus is the first to settle down enough to speak and sniffs loudly.

"I forgive you, brother. You were just doing what thought was best." He's still crying, but he has enough mental clarity to realize that Sans' position must be uncomfortable on his spine, with his femurs perpendicular to Papyrus' own. Papyrus shifts Sans bodily so that his small brother now straddles his legs on the couch.

Sans, still crying, instinctively pulls himself flush against Papyrus' front and clings a little tighter. "i'm sorry," he hiccups, "i'm sorry, i'm so sorry, pap."

Papyrus shushes him gently and rubs a hand up and down over Sans' upper back. "I forgive you, Sans. I forgive you. I forgive you."

Sans can't seem to stop repeating "i'm sorry" now that he's started, sounding a bit like a broken record. Papyrus in turn whispers an "I forgive you" for each apology Sans chokes out, feeling calmer and calmer with each one.

Eventually Sans calms down too, and pulls away from Papyrus' now damp clothing. He sniffs. "sorry about your clothes, pap."

"There's no need to apologize for that, Sans, it'll wash." Papyrus smiles gently down at him, still rubbing Sans' back.

They're both quiet before Sans speaks up again. "for real though, pap, why didn't you tell me you knew about them?"

Papyrus speaks slowly, carefully. "Sans, I know that you care very much about my emotional well-being. I, too, care very much about your emotional well-being. I love you, Sans. I want to make sure you know that. I also know… that your health is quite fragile, brother. Everything was just so hectic and scary back then and I knew you were very stressed, too, and I just. I didn't," Papyrus' voice drops into a whisper. "I was just scared that if I told you, you would Fall Down."

"oh." Sans says, just as softly. He doesn't speak for a moment, but then continues, still whispering. "i can take a lot more than that, pap. i've… i've handled a lot worse emotionally without dusting pap."

"I didn't know that Sans. How was I supposed to know you could handle it? I've tried asking you before if there was something wrong, but you never answer me," Papyrus tells him gently.

Sans drops his forehead against Papyrus' sternum, reluctant to respond.

Papyrus rubs a hand soothingly over Sans' back. "I don't want you to have to deal these things by yourself Sans. I want to help you with it, Sans, I really do! But I can't do that if you don't tell me what troubles you."

"you wouldn't believe me," Sans mumbles.

"Yes, I would, Sans," Papyrus argues gently. "Have a little faith in me, brother."

"i've done some truly awful things, pap. if i told you, you'd hate me."

Papyrus places his hands on either side of Sans' face and tilts it upwards towards his own face. He notes that Sans' eyelights are small and dim and he wishes that they were brighter. "Brother, there's nothing you could say that would make me think any less of you. If you truly think that what you did was that awful, then I'm sure you were justified in your actions!" Papyrus' thumb rubs idly against Sans' cheekbone. "Please, brother. I want you to be able to trust me in this."

Sans's eyelights flick downwards, unable to hold Papyrus' gaze. He sighs, but otherwise doesn't say anything. He stays quiet for several moments before making eye contact with Papyrus again. Papyrus notices that Sans' eyelights a bit bigger and brighter and takes this as a good sign.

"ok," Sans says at length. "ok, i'll tell you, pap."

Papyrus smiles warmly. "Thank you, Sans. I promise that you won't regret this."

"don't say i didn't warn you," Sans says as he climbs off Papyrus' lap to sit next to him on the couch.

Papyrus lets him, and watches as Sans settles into the cushions, looking so small and world-weary that his soul aches just a little bit at the sight. When Sans idly places a hand onto the cushion in the space between them, Papyrus places his own hand over it, unwilling to be completely separated from Sans. He also has feeling Sans is going to need it.

Sans looks up at Papyrus in surprise at the unexpected touch. Papyrus just smiles brightly at Sans and Sans returns it with a small smile of his own. He gently squeezes the phalanges wrapped around his own and returns his gaze to the far wall of the room. Sans sighs heavily, considering where to start. He takes another breath and starts talking.

Sans tells Papyrus briefly about Gaster, about his time as a lab assistant, and about the accident, and takes a moment to thank Papyrus for being so dedicated to cheering him up. He tells him about the resets and timelines and what they are and how they work, about the broken machine in their basement that preserves records of countless resets in dozens upon dozens of notebooks. He tells him about Flowey, about his ruthless cruelty mixed with child-like curiosity, about some of the worse timelines he remembers, about the awful things he did to Flowey, about the things he was forced to do to others and to Papyrus most of all. With great reluctance, he tells Papyrus about the Very Worst Flowey Timeline, and he has to stop three different times to cry for a few minutes while he tells the tale. After he's done, the two of them end up hugging and crying for about fifteen minutes and when they separate, they both agree it would be a good idea to take a break for hot chocolate and gather their emotions together.

Once they've sent their empty mugs to the kitchens to be washed, Sans tells Papyrus about the human. He tells him about how the human was more or less kind at first, about how he could see human growing more and more frustrated with each reset, about the very first timeline that the human killed every single monster. He tells him about the dozens upon dozens of resets that ended up in only genocide, about the countless times he tried and tried again to kill the human, only to fail miserably. Papyrus, who had been surprisingly quiet the whole time except to encourage him, interrupts Sans to tell him that he is the greatest monster he has ever known, surpassing even Papyrus himself. With renewed vigor, Sans tells Papyrus about timelines where Toriel, the woman in the ruins, becomes queen, about ones where Undyne becomes queen, about ones where Mettaton becomes king, about how this isn't the first time Papyrus has ended up as king, about other things he's seen happen in the human's wake.

Sans also haltingly tells Papyrus about the handful of times they made it to the surface. He skips over a lot of the struggles they experienced on the surface and instead tells him about the good things, about meteor showers, about the beauty of the night and the stars, about how vast and how blue the sky is on a clear day. He tells him about how humans can be cruel but they can also be as infinitely kind as monsters, about the joy and the laughter, about many of the wonderful things that happened.

Sans also tells Papyrus about the utter despair he felt when he woke up back in Snowdin when the timeline reset after being on the surface. Sans tells him that he Fell Down the first three times it happened, despite Papyrus' best efforts during those timelines.

Papyrus takes this information hard and feels incredibly guilty about being unable to save Sans. Sans takes a few minutes to reassure Papyrus that yes, Papyrus was still a fantastic brother and no, Papyrus wasn't at fault for being unable to save him.

Sans is quiet for a few moments after reassuring his brother. "tibia honest, i think i'm getting better at dealing with the whole 'nothing is permanent' thing. sure, i'll probably be screwed when the kid stops resetting and i actually have to deal with the consequences of things i do, but i don't think that'll be happening anytime soon."

"Don't worry, Sans," Papyrus says, "I'll help you when that happens, especially after all you've gone through."

Sans smiles up at him. "aww, thanks pap! i knew i could count on you, bro."

Papyrus beams at Sans. "Of course you can count on me brother! Where would you be without a cool guy like me?"

"i dunno, bro, i dunno." The silence is comfortable and Sans is reluctant to break it, but it seemed unfair that Sans got all this weight off his chest whereas Papyrus has barely spoken at all. "was... was there anything else you wanted to say, pap? i know i've been hogging the conversation."

It's Papyrus' turn to heave a sigh. He does want to talk about the whole 'I'm an adult now, so why do you keep treating me like a child' thing, but he has a feeling it would quickly devolve into a shouting match. On the other hand, if he doesn't get it off his chest now, it would probably never get spoken. Might as well get it over with.

"Sans… you know I'm an adult, right? I'm in my twenties now. I think- I mean, I don't want to be rude, but… I'm too old for bedtime stories. I have been for a long time." Papyrus braces himself for Sans' reaction.

"oh, is that it? i was wonderin' when you'd grow out of 'em." Sans' voice sounds faintly amused. "heh heh, i figured this kinda thing was inevitable."

Papyrus steals a glance at Sans' face. He looks happy, slightly sad, and wistful, but not mad. Papyrus doesn't know what he was expecting, but it wasn't this. "You're… you're not mad? But I thought it made you happy?"

"it does make me happy," Sans grins. "it makes for great bonding time. i was kinda expectin' you to say somethin' about it a long time ago, heh. you never mentioned not wantin' a bedtime story so i kept at it."

Papyrus is bewildered. "You're not mad? Even though the main reason I kept with it for so long was because I was doing it for you?"

"nope. i'm not mad." Sans shoves his hands into his pockets and sighs. "i know i haven't been the best brother in the world. it's just. i've seen glimpses of other timelines and they don't- they don't end well. and i didn't want that for you. i wanted to make sure you lived out your childhood to the fullest an' that you were happy and you had everything you wanted. you've always been my lil' bro, pap, and tibia honest, it's been kinda hard to accept that you're not so 'little' anymore, heh." Sans looks over at Papyrus anxiously. "i hope you're not too mad at me for it."

Papyrus sighs again. He wants to be angry, but holding a grudge was always more exhausting than any exercise routine he ever held. "I'm not mad, exactly, just… frustrated. It was… difficult being treated like a kid for so long, but you were always so supportive that it never ended up being a big deal." Papyrus pauses, trying to decide where he's going with this. "Maybe we could… start over? Or something like that?"

Sans shifts and hums noncommittally. "how do you mean?"

Papyrus rubs his jaw, thinking. "We could... start by promising to honest with each other? Even if it might hurt the other person's feelings?" he suggests.

Sans frowns, looking uncertain. "i- i don't really do promises, bro."

Papyrus turns in his seat, facing Sans fully. "Sans, please," he urges. "We're never going to fix things if we keep doing things the way we always have! Can you at least promise to try, Sans? For me?"

Papyrus' expression is earnest and hopeful. Innocent. Sans can't deny that face, never has been able to. "i- yeah. i can try. i promise."

Papyrus smiles and it lights up his whole face. He scoops up Sans into a big hug, and his voice returns to a normal volume after so much quiet, emotional conversation. "Thank you, brother! I knew I could count on you! And! I also promise to be honest with you, as much as possible!"

Sans thought he was out of tears, but another wave of some inexplicable emotion sweeps over him and he gets a little choked up as he returns the hug. "thanks, bro." Papyrus sets him down after a few more moments, and Sans can't help the yawn that tumbles out of him.

Papyrus glances at the clock and his eyes widen. "Oh my goodness, it's after midnight! No wonder you're tired, you lazybones!" Without waiting for Sans to respond, Papyrus stands up and picks up Sans, settling him into the crook of one arm. With the other hand, he takes the crown off the coffee table and playfully sets it on on Sans' head. "For the best brother in the world!" he declares.

The crown immediately slides forward to cover Sans' eyes and he chuckles, removing the crown and setting it in his lap. "i'm you're only brother, pap."

"So? Doesn't mean you're not the best! You raised me, the Great Papyrus, after all!" Papyrus says, smiling brightly.

Sans yawns again. "yeah, you are pretty great, bro."

Papyrus' smile turns gentle. "Let's get you to bed, lazybones. After today, you've earned it." He walks through the doorway and shifts his grip on Sans so that the smaller skeleton is being carried bridal style.

Sans settles against Papyrus and closes his eyes. "heh heh. never thought i'd see the day. you? telling me i should sleep? preposterous."

Papyrus snorts ungracefully. "Don't get your hopes up, brother, this is a one-time occasion!"

"i'll be sure to make the best of it."

"Good! Because this won't happen again!"

Sans feels much better after the banter and the earlier release of all those negative emotions. As terrifying as it had been in the beginning, it had been really good to get all that off his chest. And now, with his brother chattering away above him, he's lulled to sleep by Papyrus' even gait and the warm feeling in his chest. Maybe this timeline wasn't so bad after all.

* * *

A/N: i wanted to post something on here, even if i never visit this site. i've got some more stuff on my ao3 account here: /users/therentistoodamnhigh


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